Was 2010 the year that IBM i shops finally got religion and took security seriously? (Can pigs suddenly sprout wings and fly?) We'll find out next week, when PowerTech releases its eighth annual "State of IBM i Security" study.

Year after year, the PowerTech security study highlights the mostly dreadful state of security of IBM i systems. Like Charlie Brown repeatedly getting the football pulled out from under him, PowerTech's annual exercise seems doomed to showcase the abject failure of many organizations when it comes to securing their IBM i-based applications and data.

Every year, PowerTech dutifully reports the facts as they see it when it comes to IBM i security. The company does its best to quantify its observations across hundreds of IBM i shops that participate in the survey. It's a good survey--not a scientific survey mind you, but as accurate as it can be for what it does. But it's the results that are painful.

When PowerTech see a customer that uses default passwords with its user profiles or spreads ALLOBJ authority far and wide--or does both simultaneously--the company's security experts must keep a polite and respectful exterior and talk about "not leveraging the resources." But on the inside, they're screaming "You're doing it wrong!" to paying and non-paying clients alike.